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First thing is prevention, revise the area before you dive and protect skin from sting with rash guard or lycra.

When swimming always look in front of you when you swim, if you do this you will not be stung.

I was at maritini cove today with five of my divers and jelly fish every where and no one was stung!!

If stung immediately take off tentacles with tips of fingers. Finger tips will not be stung they are calloused over. The gravity of the sting is directly proportional to the time the tentacles are in contact with your skin.

I carry a spray bottle with a 50-50 solution of water and amonia in it. After tentacles have been removed spray area with solution.

If you have stomach cramping rescate recommends a calcium tablet to relax your stomach muscles.

Prenvention is the key though never let your guard down and use a rash guard or a dive skin, we carry them at Sonoran Sport Center and I never dive in summer with out them.

We were stung by small jellyfish in the summer of 2003. We weren't in the water for 5 minutes before my sister and niece started saying that they felt something. We all came ashore, and all 7 of us had been stung. It burned, but it was not unbearable. My sister got the worst of it. I think she may have been stung by a larger jellyfish. She had large marks across her thighs, that returned a month after they had disappeared. She had to get medication for it.

The funny thing was that the locals did not believe us when we told them we were stung. The said that there weren't any jellyfish at that time of year.

The next day we were sailing, and we could see millions of small jellyfish everywhere.

You were stung, most likely, by what we call string of pearls, a type of siphonophore but far less painful than a man of war sting. The way you describe the incident is common for string of pearls, which are usually found in great number during certain times and virtually anyone in the water will be stung, man of wars are easy to see and easily avoidalbe.

Like Vince said, prevention is the key. You NEED to wear at least rash guard or lycra.

But if you got stung, this is the First Aid for "Man-Of-War" sting.

1. Pick off any visible tentacles with tweezers, a gloved hand, stick, or anything handy, being careful to avoid further injury.

2.Rinse the sting thoroughly with seawater to remove any adhering tentacles.Do Not apply VinegerVinegar causes discharge of nematocysts.Man-of-wars belong to a different family than box jellyfish and therefore must be treated separately. Its really important to know what kind of jellyfish you got stung by.

3. Apply ice for pain control.

Some people are extremely sensitive to the venom. a few have allergic reactions and need to see a doctor.

Vince Radice wrote: You were stung, most likely, by what we call string of pearls, a type of siphonophore but far less painful than a man of war sting. The way you describe the incident is common for string of pearls, which are usually found in great number during certain times and virtually anyone in the water will be stung, man of wars are easy to see and easily avoidalbe.

They are out in full force now. I've probably been stung 10 times in the last 5 days.

Just got back from S.C. tonight. We stayed at Pillar, A lot of man a war on Saturday the tide line was covered with them. Both my son and wife got stung and experienced cramping. I used vinegar to rinse off the tentacle's and gave them benadryl for the cramping, later I applied solicaine to reduce the pain. Seemed to work good. I didn't see any on Sunday or today.

My 4 year old daughter got stung by a jellyfish on Monday. We were swimming at the Estuary. She was in a lot of pain. She got stung on both her right and left arm.

When we got home, I made a paste of baking soda, sea salt and water and put it on her wounds. After leaving the paste on for a few minutes, I gave her a very warm shower. She felt a lot better, especially the next day.

I did some googling and it looks like jellyfish season for the Sea of Cortez is from March to November. Stay safe everyone!